Syria Impact Report 2020 | Islamic Relief Canada

Syria Impact Report YOUR DONATIONS IN ACTION | 2020 I M PA C T R E P O R T 2 0 2 0

1

Crisis Background 10 years. That’s how long the conflict in Syria has affected its people and the country. Today, this conflict is considered one of the worst humanitarian crises with more than 5.5 million Syrians seeking refuge in other countries. For the millions still in Syria, they are facing a lack of access to food, clean water, medical services and supplies, shelter and support.

The ongoing conflict is limiting access to livelihood opportunities and the chance for many to earn an income.

With overwhelming damage to infrastructure as well as the constant threat of violence, the people of Syria are unable to have access to resources needed to help them rebuild their food production. They are especially vulnerable to diseases and health concerns due to disruptions affecting healthcare facilities as well as a shortage of health staff and medical supplies.

2

ISL AMIC RELIEF CANADA

Our Work in the Region Islamic Relief’s work in Syria began back in 2003 and has grown rapidly ever since. Over the years, we have worked in different cities across the country, including Aleppo, Idlib, Hama and Latakia. In each city, Islamic Relief is focusing on certain projects that aim to benefit its people in the most impactful ways. Today, and due to the ongoing conflict, Islamic Relief works to provide services and resources that Syrians urgently require.

In the past year, more than 400,000 individuals were supported by Islamic Relief Canada. Islamic Relief continues to respond to the emergency within Syria by providing urgent relief and essential living supplies to families who have been displaced due to the conflict. With COVID-19, some of the projects that we support in Syria include providing medicine and other medical supplies to hospitals and clinics, establishing mobile clinics, as well as assisting in creating cardiology and dialysis centres, also including providing beneficiaries with protective gear.

Additionally, Islamic Relief works on improving access to clean water and sanitation centres within camps; as well as improving access to food through food distributions and supporting bakeries.

I M PA C T R E P O R T 2 0 2 0

3

Covid-19 Relief Response

Providing personal protective equipment, such as face masks, gowns and gloves, disinfectants, to 50 facilities in Northwest Syria, as well medical items including antipyretics, nebulizers, nebulization masks, ICU beds and isolation tents.

BENEFICIARIES

100,000 individuals

Your Donations In Action These projects show an overview of the support we were able to provide to the people of Syria in 2020, because of you.

4

ISL AMIC RELIEF CANADA

Emergency Response to Displaced Families from Idlib

Emergency Water & Orphanage Support in Aleppo

Supporting Rehabilitation Unit in Sarmada

Water & Sanitation Services in Northwest Syria

Responding to the vast displacement of families who escaped deadly escalations and bombardments in Idlib, and were trying to survive freezing temperatures.

This included providing highly needed tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and mattresses to vulnerable families through flexible vouchers.

This allowed families to select the items of their choice to better meet their specific needs, and helps preserve the dignity of each family.

The ongoing conflict in Syria has resulted in the deaths of many adult men, leaving their children as orphans. This project is designed to support hundreds of orphan children and their families in the Aleppo Governorate, by providing them with monthly food parcels and hygiene kits. This monthly gift helps reduce some of the financial burden faced by the children and their single mothers or other caregivers. This helps alleviate protection risks such as child labour, child or forced marriage of adolescent girls, psychosocial distress, family separation, and lack of basic and societal protections.

The Sarmada Rehabilitation Centre in Idlib opened its doors in 2014. This centre, which is the first of its kind in the city, helps rehabilitate patients experiencing trauma or recovering from surgeries. Other services offered include nursing and physiotherapy departments, a pathology laboratory and ambulance transport. With your support the centre is able to continue providing medicine, specialized treatments and cover operational costs that allows it to keep running.

This project aims to help alleviate the suffering of the vulnerable and displaced Syrians and their host communities with emergency water and sanitation services across Aleppo and Idlib.

These services included establishing a solar powered network for water pumps and sewage, as well as improving waste disposal, living environments and hygiene conditions. It also focuses on the improved quality of basic education for 2724 school children through the construction and maintenance of water and sanitation facilities in camp schools. To help combat the spread of Covid-19, specialized hygiene kits are being provided along with increased hygiene awareness and promotion.

BENEFICIARIES

22,519 individuals

BENEFICIARIES

13,884 individuals

BENEFICIARIES

633 orphans

BENEFICIARIES

233,510 individuals

I M PA C T R E P O R T 2 0 2 0

5

Supporting Syrian Refugees in Surrounding Regions JORDAN

LEBANON

TURKEY

Education and Shelter Support for Syrian Refugees and Host Communities

Enhancing Resilience and Improving Food Security For Vulnerable Syrian Refugees

Smiles for Syrian Orphans

Providing the children of both refugee and host communities with wellrounded opportunities for education and growth. This project aims to provide online academic support such as remedial classes in Arabic, Math, and English for children who are out of school, orphans, or need a little extra help. It also provides extra-curricular activities such as drama, art, sports, storytelling, and basic agriculture along with psychosocial programs in a safe space.

Families are provided with rent support to help reduce school dropout rates. This project focuses on the protection of women and children through support for violence survivors, as well as providing hygiene awareness and kits.

Helping to improve the living conditions of vulnerable Syrian refugees living in across 3 different shelters in Saida, through providing food and other essential support. This helps cover the basic nutritional needs of these families who are struggling to survive in the midst of Lebanon’s financial crisis and pandemic restrictions.

This response prioritizes female-headed households who are especially vulnerable and unable to feed their families, and helps alleviate negative survival strategies around food, clean water, and health.

The project will directly contribute to better integrate orphaned refugee Syrian children in the community and positively influence their personal development through improving their social skills and mental health. The project works to provide a supportive environment for these children through access to meals, art supplies, activities, gifts, and psychological support.

This helps positively influence their personal development, social skills and mental health, and helps integrate them into society more easily.

BENEFICIARIES

1,300 individuals

6

ISL AMIC RELIEF CANADA

BENEFICIARIES

358 individuals

BENEFICIARIES

500 children

Seasonal Projects in Syria Orphan Sponsorship Program

Ramadan Food Packs

Qurbani / Udhiya

Winter Warmth Assistance

One of our most effective orphan-focused initiatives in Syria and surrounding regions is our orphan sponsorship program. The Islamic Relief office has a personal relationship with each family whose orphan is sponsored by your donation, and regularly checks in on them to provide support and ensure that their needs are met. This is a process that transforms these families.

With your help, each family was able to cover basic needs, which allowed orphans to focus on their education.

Distributed food packs to families most in need to help them prepare for Ramadan. These food packs were dependent on the local diet and were purchased through markets within the local, associated economy. Food parcels weighed around 30 lbs and included staple items such as rice, wheat, and oil.

With your vital support, Islamic Relief provided opportunities for those who can’t afford meat to receive the nutritional benefits of our Qurbani Meat Packet. Each packet contained enough meat for a family of 4-8 people, for one week. The meat was distributed fresh, chilled, frozen or canned, according to what was most suitable for the region.

Millions of internally displaced persons faced a harsh winter season exacerbated by a war that has ravaged their homes, leaving them without any essential household items.

Thanks to your support, many winter items were delivered to additional vulnerable beneficiaries through flexible vouchers, which allow families to select the items of their choice (eg. blankets, tents, mattresses, clothing, etc.) to help them better meet their specific needs. This helps preserve the dignity of each family.

BENEFICIARIES

1,020 orphans

BENEFICIARIES

24,833 individuals

BENEFICIARIES

21,093 individuals

BENEFICIARIES

5,125 people

I M PA C T R E P O R T 2 0 2 0

7

8

ISL AMIC RELIEF CANADA

Thank You for Your Support!

Throughout the crisis, your donations helped us respond quickly and deliver aid to the people of Syria in their time of need. Your support is so often the gift of life itself and we take special care to reach those who are most at risk.

We’ve seen with our own eyes how their lives have been uplifted and transformed by what you give.

May it bring a brighter future for them inshaAllah.

We could not have done it without you, thank you.

“Whoever relieves the hardship of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve his hardship on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever helps ease one in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for him in this world and in the Hereafter..."

– Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬

I M PA C T R E P O R T 2 0 2 0

9

3501 Mainway Burlington, ON L7M 1A9 info@islamicrelief.ca 1-855-377-4673 (HOPE)

10

ISL AMIC RELIEF CANADA